Caring.com's New Referral Program Supported by Leading Assisted Living Operators

Caring.com Named Preferred Provider by Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA)

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of the nation's largest senior living providers -- including Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), Emeritus Senior Living (NYSE: ESC), Benchmark Senior Living, and Senior Star -- have chosen Caring.com as their agency of record for national buying of Internet leads for families looking for housing and care for their elderly loved ones. Separately, the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) named Caring.com as its preferred partner for Internet marketing services.

With surging demand in the U.S. senior housing market, more Americans than ever before are turning to the Internet and online word of mouth to find and select the best senior living providers for their senior loved ones. About 30-50% of the senior living industry's leads are coming from the Internet and that number is expected to rise, as tech adoption among baby boomers and seniors alike continues to increase. Whether seeking independent living, assisted living, or memory care, about two million consumers every month turn to Caring.com to find expert guidance about their options, research local providers, and get help in making well-informed selection decisions.

The country's top senior living providers have chosen Caring.com to increase visibility of their senior living communities, optimize inquiry-to-visit rates, and leverage Caring.com's resources to better nurture leads from the moment the search begins, through the research and decision-making phases, all the way to community selection and move-in.

In Q4-2012, Caring.com expanded its service offering with the launch of a new toll-free referral help line. Available seven days a week to those seeking senior housing, Caring.com's family advisors explain different types of senior living options, help identify local senior communities matched to the prospective resident's needs and preferences, schedule tours, share and encourage consumer reviews, and answer a range of senior living questions. With this added consumer support infrastructure, as well as other new and expanded capabilities for lead qualification and nurturing, the group of senior living community partners announced Caring.com as the agency of record for lead qualification and development, starting January 1. The help line is now referring nearly four thousand prospective residents per week.

"Caring.com has been great to work with as they've added the referral model to their business," said Jayne Sallerson, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Emeritus Senior Living. "Emeritus wanted to consolidate our Internet lead buying with a company we could trust, and Caring.com has demonstrated their commitment to consumers, to us, and to the industry. Their new program is showing positive signs of increased tours and conversions."

"Caring.com has proven themselves to be a strong partner for Brookdale," said Jim Pusateri, senior vice president of sales at Brookdale Senior Living. "Working with fewer Internet lead sources has improved our operational efficiencies, lowered our marketing costs, and improved consumers' experience with Brookdale Senior Living."

Separately, ALFA, the largest national association of providers of professionally managed communities for seniors, signed Caring.com as its preferred provider for Web-based lead services as well as to power the organization's new ALFA Senior Living Community Directory.

"Caring.com is our preferred provider of Web-based services because they are an exceptional online resource," said Richard P. Grimes, president and CEO of ALFA, which is the largest national association exclusively dedicated to professionally managed, consumer-driven senior living communities. "Caring.com's high-quality content, easy-to-use directory, and online reviews help prospective residents and their families find the right solutions for their needs -- this is good for consumers and good for senior living."

"From the beginning, we've focused on building the most comprehensive and most credible online resource to help those caring for a senior parent, spouse, or other loved one," says Andy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Caring.com. "Unlike some other Internet resources that will only share information about those providers who pay them, we've stayed true to our social mission and help connect consumers to a variety of quality resources for their needs. Working with ALFA and the leading senior living communities helps enable our ability to best serve those in need of senior care -- and we continue to offer referral to free and low-cost support resources as well."

About Caring.comCaring.com is the leading website for family caregivers seeking information and support as they care for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones. Caring.com provides helpful caregiving content, online support groups, and the most comprehensive Senior Care Directory in the United States, with 35,000 consumer ratings and reviews and a toll-free senior living referral line (1-866-824-8174). In January 2012, Caring.com launched the Caring Stars award program recognizing America's best assisted living communities based on consumer reviews. This year, 383 communities in 40 states were named the Caring Stars of 2013. Based in San Mateo, California, Caring.com is a private company funded by DCM, Intel Capital, Shasta Ventures, and Split Rock Partners. Connect with Caring.com on Facebook, Twitter, Google+,Pinterest, LinkedIn and/or YouTube.